NHL Has March Trading Madness on Last Day of February

Good morning and happy hump day, Wednesday, March 1st. Wait, March?! At least that means NHL playoffs aren't too far away...

A special thank you to loyal reader Kyle K. who rightfully pointed out an error in yesterday's newsletter — Mikko Rantanen is the fourth (not second) Avalanche player to hit the 40-goal mark, alongside former Rocket Richard winner Milan Hejduk, teammate Nathan MacKinnon, and Avs' GM, Joe Sakic.

We're sorry for the mistake but hey, at least you know our newsletter is written by humans and not ChatGPT! 🤖

The New York Rangers landed Patrick Kane. The Toronto Maple Leafs negotiated three deals. The Edmonton Oilers didn’t get Erik Karlsson, but did procure the defenseman they always wanted in Mattias Ekholm. GM Don Waddell’s Carolina Hurricanes took a chance on acquiring Jesse Puljujarvi. The Minnesota Wild brought in scoring help by trading for Marcus Johansson. The Washington Capitals made it clear they are open for business

The NHL trade deadline is Friday, but the NHL’s usual March Trading Madness started on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

Here’s which teams were helped the most:

New York Rangers: They acquired a proven winner, and highly competitive winger in Patrick Kane. Kane’s departure marks the official end of an era in Chicago. But think of him playing with Artemi Panarin again.

Edmonton Oilers: When negotiations for Karlsson didn’t go anywhere, the Oilers went after Ekholm, a big, hard-nosed defenseman. How long have the Oilers needed a blue line force like Ekholm?

Toronto Maple Leafs: The Maple Leafs acquired a first round pick from the Washington Capitals for defenseman Rasmus Sandin. It’s actually the Boston Bruins’ first round pick that Washington owned. That replaces the first rounder the Maple Leafs gave up in the Jake McCabe-Sam Lafferty deal on Monday. The Maple Leafs also moved big forward Pierre Engvall for salary cap purposes and added veteran Luke Schenn.

Who’s still in the marketplace:

Detroit winger Tyler Bertuzzi: Red Wings are looking for a first-round pick and a player.

Columbus defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov: The Blue Jackets reportedly want a first-round pick and a third rounder.

Ottawa goalie Cam Talbot: The Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres and maybe Vegas Golden Knights should be looking at goalies.

Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo: One report says the Kings are very interested in both Korpisalo and Gavrikov.

*TSN has since been reported The Los Angeles Kings acquired Korpisalo and Gavrikov in exchange for Jonathan Quick and a 1st round pick, although the NHL hasn't declared the move official yet.

Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun: Maybe he will move, but this could stretch into the summer.

Philadelphia wingers James van Riemsdyk: Lots of interest because everyone needs scoring.

👑 Anze Kopitar scored 4 goals as Kings down the Jets 6-5 in shootout. Down 2-0 to start the second period, the Kings' captain was a man on a mission collecting a natural hat trick in the second before tallying his fourth just 1:26 into the third period. It was Kopitar's second career 4-goal game and 6th career hat trick. Kings' forward Gabriel Vilardi scored his 19th of the season with 4:06 left in regulation to force overtime and Adrian Kempe scored in the shootout to secure the come-from-behind victory for the Kings.

🏆 Wild enforcer Ryan Reaves had himself a night as the Wild defeat the Islanders 2-1. The 36-year-old forward got on the scoresheet early, dropping the mitts and getting the better of fellow heavyweight Ross Johnston just two minutes into the game. Not satisfied with just a fight, Reaves batted a rebound out of midair 16 minutes later to score his 1st of the season and as a member of the Minnesota Wild. You could say Reavo is efficient with his time as he collected a goal, 5 PIMs, and 3 hits in just 6:46 of ice time. Frederick Gaudreau scored in the shootout and Filip Gustavsson made 39 saves plus another three in the shootout to cement the win.

What three Colorado Avalanche players share the franchise record of collecting a +52 in a single season?

• McAvoy scores late in OT, Bruins top Flames to extend winning streak to 8

• Senators cruise past Red Wings to gain more ground on playoff spot

• Zucker scores late in 3rd, Penguins rally past Predators

• Ylonen scores winner in 3rd, Canadiens beat Sharks

• Staal has goal, assist, Panthers spoil Jeannot's debut with Lightning

• Geekie scores twice, Kraken defeat Blues to end 3-game skid

• Capitals sign veteran defenceman Nick Jensen to three-year, $12.15M extension

• Meier unlikely to make Devils debut against Avalanche

• Rangers' K'Andre Miller gets 3-game suspension for spitting

• Ducks claim D Harrington from Devils; Pens waive McGinn, Friedman

• 🔥 Boone Jenner dangles Owen Power and roofs it past Craig Anderson

• 1️⃣ Dmitry Orlov snipes his 1st as a Bruin

• 🚀 Kent Johnson goes right under the bar with rocket wrister

• 💥 Pavel Zacha pots game-tying goal after huge collision creates space

• 🍬 Pheonix Copley makes two sweet shootout saves

• 🥊 Tinordi & McBain exchange HUGE blows in old-school tilt

• Using fakes to create space in corner puck retrieval

• You don't have to choose between stick-on-puck or hitting

• 12 minute hip mobility routine

Milan Hejduk (2002-03), Peter Forsberg (2002-03), and Devon Toews (2021-22) share the Avalanche's single season plus-minus record of +52.